Dance Moms: Breathless in Denver

The last time we left Abby Lee, the group dance got a perfect score, yet the new girl was still excused from the team. This week the girls are headed to Denver. Kalani will be doing a solo in the senior division for the first time. Kendall and Nia also get a solos. Nia was supposed to be the first woman president in her dance, but that didn’t happen. So she doesn’t really have a theme.

I got a new DVR box this week and that means I have to reset the shows I have set to record. Only there were a hundred of them and I don’t know when they air. So it’s the end of the week I don’t have Dance Moms or Teen Moms sitting in my DVR list. So I am watching On Demand that doesn’t really let you pause.

It’s day two and Abby has only worked on the group dance, Elliana dies off quickly in the dance and her mother is losing her mind because she is from Denver and wanted her kid featured. Abby runs through the solos at the hotel in Denver. The moms complain to Abby and Abby starts to cry. Then she runs out of the room and the producers can be heard asking what happened. Abby said, “I’m Done!” and then later “Fire Me! Fire Me!” There wasn’t a clear cause for this outburst, but my guess is that Abby had just reached her breaking point. The impending sentencing, the election results, living in California where everyone is losing their minds the most… just all of it. I think the election was just the final straw for a lot of people to a really, really rough 2016.

The next day at the competition, the moms all talk about Abby and whether or not she will show up. Apparently, Abby is really upset about having to go back to Pittsburgh next week. But Abby does show up. I’m shocked.

Kendall’s Solo

Kendall’s solo is about her journey. Thanks to Yolanda Foster, no one should ever use the word journey to describe anything ever again. I don’t like her dance for that reason alone. Also, I thought it was lurchy. The choreography wasn’t fluid like a lyrical, which is what I thought it was supposed to be. Jill seemed to love it.

Nia’s Solo

Nia’s solo is again a black dance. Because, that is the only solos Abby ever gives Nia. Except that time she put her in a dog costume. Nia is nervous about hitting her front aerial. The dance is going alone great, it’s basically the Harriet Tubman dance, and the Maya Angelou dance except she misses her aerial with a THUD. She doesn’t miss a beat in covering it up though and finishes out the dance strong.

Kalani’s Solo

Kalani’s dance was great. She seemed to be on her toes a lot but she also appeared to be barefoot. I really loved her dance. It was a good first attempt in the senior category. She and the other soloist were all out of breath after their solos because of the high altitude.

The Group Dance

At the last minute, Abby brings in a guy with a huge jug of liquid nitrogen. Apparently, they dancers are going to eat Cheetos covered in liquid nitrogen so that their breath will be foggy. I know. I don’t get it either. If the used the Cheetos, I didn’t see it. Abby said something about them not being able to see it, so maybe we were just too far away to see the nitrogen trick work. The group dance was basically each member of the group dying of altitude sickness. Another quirky and depressing routine. I thought it was good though. Kalani was particularly good.

Awards

Kendall takes first and Nia takes second in the Teen category. Kalani takes first place in the senior category. Kalani also won high score in Overall Solos. The group took overall first place.

I think there are only three episodes left. If Abby goes to prison, they will probably be the last. Who is going to stick it out to the end with me?

P.S. As I am pulling photos, I realize that I don’t even remember seeing Camryn this week. Was she there?

Comments

Camryn was there, but I guess Abby’s busy trying to give solos to everyone that didn’t get it last week.

The deal with Abby crying then leaving the room…she hit something and sent it flying in the hallway and someone told her not to do that. That’s when she started yelling, “Fire me, fire me!” At least we didn’t have to witness her falling apart on camera. 🙁

I am going to stick it out with you Tamara. I appreciate your recap and enjoyed it very much. I loved all the dances . I can’t stand Holly ,Jill and Kalani’s mom anymore. I usually watch the show twice. I fast forward the screeching moms the first time and suffer through them the second watch. I believe Camryn danced because Abby said everyone was dancing in this dance. I wish Abby the best, I like Abby and those moms have made her job harder than it needed to be. I realize production encourages drama but that has almost ruined the show. So many shows need to come up to speed and realize drama is yesterday’s news. Kalani is a beautiful dancer so is Bryn. Kendall is good but does not have star power, neither does Nia. When I watch the group dance my eyes are drawn to Kalani,Bryn and the 2 minis.

Kendall has never been good. She has horrible posture and her shoulders are up in her ears all the time. It just really shows more when all these very well-trained (not by Abby) dancers are dancing as well.

Kendall has mentioned before, she wants to be like a Kylie. She doesn’t seem to understand the odds of that being realistic. She sees how the fans go crazy for these girls, but I think as they get older, (aware of the total change overnight of a 14 year old girl ugh), it isn’t the fans she wants. She is too old to appreciate the young fans, and too young for the Kylie type.
That’s just how I see it. And Tamara, I’m in till the end, and will be sad when it ends.

I think Abby and to an extent the entire industry is ageist when it comes to the competition dancers — it’s not just that the girls are aging out, but that Abby seems to hate them for it.

Hence the minis. And forcing the minis to work with girls 10 years older than them.

It was the same thing with Brooke really – after the first season and she started creeping into the teen years, Abby openly despised her. Juxtaposition that against her glorying Mackenzies “cuteness” and youth; the younger they are, the harder Abby can break them — when the girls were younger they all just sat there petrified to death of her, on the verge of tears most of the time. She loses that power as they get older.

I’m with you, T. And you’re right–the powers that be should realize it would be better for Abby to stay out of jail and continue with the business (and the show) so she can pay off her taxes and penalties. As long as she keeps finding new talent like Elliana, Lillianna and the recent teen additions, this franchise could go on for years. I thought I would never watch again after Chloe left, but somehow I got sucked back in. It’s so exciting that Chloe may return not just to visit, but to dance.

Ok, so I do remember Camryn dancing: didn’t Brynn bump into her during the group dance? The girls did a good job of covering it up by blending it into the “dying” choreography.

Finally, I laughed out loud at your Yolanda comment. Almost forgot that she had ruined the word journey for me.

Can’t wait to see Chloe again. I could do without her mother, however. I like Abby’s quirky, depressing dances. She does macabre, depressing, tough subjects really well. I think that’s when her choreography shines.

Kalani’s dancing is superb. Good on her for her first time in the senior division. Kendall can dance but I always hated her posture and her horrible dancer face. She doesn’t know how to show any emotion but constipated big eyes. Nia has greatly improved over the years, and I agree that she’d be a great backup dancer to some performer. Her pop career seems to be doing something, so yay?